INTERVIEW: Breen plays down back-to-back talk as Tipp target strong Munster start

Tipperary hurler Mikey Breen acknowledges that the idea of retaining the All-Ireland title has surfaced within the Tipperary camp, but he is clear it cannot become the team’s primary focus.

Tipperary have not managed to secure successive Liam MacCarthy Cup titles since the 1960s. Despite adding several All-Ireland victories to their record since then, they have repeatedly fallen short in their attempts to follow up on those triumphs the following season.

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In contrast, counties like Kilkenny, Cork and more recently Limerick have all managed to string together consecutive wins, highlighting the challenge facing the current Tipp side. The achievements of the 1965 Tipperary team still loom large in the county’s history.

After last year’s unexpected All-Ireland success over Cork, Liam Cahill’s squad now has an opportunity to carve out its own place in history.

"Obviously, it's been mentioned. You can't hide away from it, it's there, it's very real," Tipperary's three-time All-Ireland winner Mikey Breen said.

"It hasn't been done in a long time. Of course, we'd love to be a team that does something like that, but it's not the sole motivation. The sole motivation is to work hard and get a really proud performance for ourselves and for the Tipp public as well, which is most important.

"You see, when everybody in the county got behind the team last year as the Championship unfolded, there was a buzz and there was a connection between players on the field and the Tipp fans in the stands, which really (made us) proud to play in front of and, I suppose, proud for also the Tipp fans looking in."

Breen, who has been on the panel since 2014 and has All-Ireland medals from 2016, 2019, and 2025, is one of the more experienced figures in the current panel.

Reflecting on previous campaigns, Tipp have endured mixed fortunes. In 2017, they exited the Munster Championship early against Cork before losing to eventual champions Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final. A year later, Limerick ended their provincial run, and Galway again got the better of them in the All-Ireland series.

When asked to identify what went wrong in those years, Breen admitted it is not easily explained.

"It's very hard to put your finger on what didn't go well," said the Ballina clubman.

"You look back in hindsight, and you see maybe there were certain elements that we didn't properly get after. I don't know, it's one of the hardest things to do, to back up an All-Ireland title.

"Most recently, Limerick were able to do it four times in a row, which is absolutely unbelievable. But there's so much quality out there in this Championship.

"You look at Munster alone, we haven't won a Munster Championship since 2016. So, number one, let's try and get out of Munster. Get a win in the first round and go from there. That's the first stage on the journey."

Tipperary’s league campaign this year saw them finish third in Division 1A of the Allianz Hurling League, recording wins over Waterford, Offaly and Galway, while losing to Cork and Limerick, along with a draw against Kilkenny.

Their focus now turns to the Munster Championship opener against Cork in Thurles on April 19.

"We'd have been looking to get to a league final, but not the case this year," said the corner-back, a Kellogg's GAA Cúl Camps ambassador. I think it was a worthwhile exercise because we managed to bank a lot of work throughout the league.

"Maybe we had to do that coming back a little bit later this year with the holiday and all the formalities that went on after the All-Ireland. We're still looking to get a lot of work done.

"We have another three or four weeks to bank work and prepare for Cork on the 19th. Yeah, look, (starting as All-Ireland champions) is a different approach.

"You're coming in from a different angle, but I suppose you can't compare everything to last year. You can't say, 'oh, we did this, we have to do this exactly the same way.

"We just have to look for continued improvement again and go year on year and add to what we were good at last year. I suppose we still have to bring forward all those positives and just try to sharpen the sword a small bit more."

Last year’s All-Ireland final saw Tipperary overpower Cork with a devastating second-half display, scoring 3-14 in just 35 minutes to turn the game decisively in their favour. However, Breen expects a much tougher test when the sides meet again.

"Absolutely, 100%," said the 31-year-old.

"We've had some great battles with them, and they've probably got the rub of the green more than we have on a couple of those occasions in the last year or so. Looking forward, it's going to be different.

"I suppose you can look at it in a number of ways. It'll be a different physical battle, tactical battle. There's always going to be things that are tried, and whether they come off or not, we'll see.

"Once we get our set of things in order, we'll be happy enough."

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